JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Health-related virtual reality interventions are on the rise, including applications that can be used for patient treatment, rehabilitation, and training of medical professionals. However, there are few papers that provide an overview of how to select and perform usability evaluations for virtual reality health interventions compared to the supports that exist for other digital health technologies.

Objective:

The objective of this paper is to present to readers a summary of a variety of usability methods that could be used for virtual reality applications. A brief overview of each method is provided, along with a list of resources and seminal articles for readers to obtain deeper insights.

Methods:

Articles describing usability methods that could be applied to health-related applications of virtual reality were identified in the literature through a search of relevant academic databases, a grey literature search and through searching the reference lists of relevant articles. The identified usability methods are described using a previously developed classification specific to virtual reality environments.

Results:

Six categories of virtual reality usability evaluations were identified alongside important considerations for selecting a method and for the development of virtual reality. These include a cognitive/task walkthrough, graphical evaluation, post-hoc questionnaire or interview, physical performance evaluation, user interface evaluation and heuristic evaluation.

Conclusions:

Given the growth of virtual reality in healthcare, rigorous evaluation and usability testing is crucial in the development and implementation of novel virtual reality interventions. The importance of interface usability and user engagement should continue to be emphasized as critical elements in ensuring advancements in virtual reality enhance patient care to their full potential.